IPL 2020-Cricketing Extravaganza Amidst Crisis(Part-IV)

Dipak Kumar Mohanty October 20, 2020



Image Credit: Adobe Stock
   

Hello Friends,

How's the brand new week treating you?I am sure the thrill of the last weekend matches is still very much there, specially the double super over one. What a match !! Overall quite an exciting weekend as all the four matches scheduled for the weekend were nail-biters.If we look at the entire week it was a happening one. Mid season captaincy change in KKR, strong comeback by KXIP with consecutive wins, CSK loosing one more key player in form of Dwayne Bravo due to injury(Return for the rest of the matches is uncertain) & some brilliant performances made the headlines for the week. With every win for the teams in the bottom half of the table ,the fight for the top four becoming even more intense. It's still a very even competition among the teams for a place in playoffs at this juncture. Some individual brilliance or a smart tactical move may very well change the fortunes of the teams in the coming weeks.At the same time teams with a negative Net run rate(NRR) or lesser points at this point of time may have to depend on some other results for their own qualification for the playoffs. Good to see that most of the teams have found their best team combination. Though it may prove to be too late for few. This season has been really dominated by fast bowlers so far. With the spinners coming into the picture due to the slow nature of the pitches, extreme pace will still have a role to play even towards the end of the tournament. We have already witnessed fastest delivery of the season in excess of 155+ KMPH (156.2 KMPH By Anrich Nortje Vs Rajasthan Royals). Teams with a perfect blend of spin & pace are definitely going to have an edge over the others in the coming weeks. Let's now quickly have a look on our featured performances of the week.
 
Back your strength
We all have certain strengths & weaknesses. Backing our individual strength even in the darkest hours is what makes us successful. Lot of times we find ourselves trying something different or taking a path we never took before especially when the chips are down. There is no harm in exploring something new or to add a new skill but while doing so we should not forget what our basic strength is. Top leaders always back their individual or team strength even amidst extreme adversity. Noticed a similar example of backing one's strength during tough situations in the match between Rajasthan Royals(RR) & Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB). This match once again proved that you should never deviate from what you do best no matter what the situation is. We witnessed yet another batting masterclass from modern day genius AB De Villiers. Steve Smith led team was in full control of the game after posting a stiff target on a pitch that was getting slower. Batting was not easy in the second innings.Loosing wickets at crunch time made the job even difficult for the Bangalore franchisee. But ABD was firm at one end.We all know what he is capable of mainly during the final overs of an innings.He intentionally took the chase deep as he had his plan chalked out well in advance about which over or bowler to target. Needing 35 off last 2 overs is never easy but the South African great had firm belief in his abilities. He smacked Jaydev Unadkat in the 19th over to collect 25 runs which made the work lot easier in the final over. It was an unbelievable chase by RCB courtesy De Villiers' genius. There was a debate about whether it was the right decision to give that over to Unadkat or not .But on a hindsight it would not have mattered much whoever the bowler was as the batsman on the other end was determined to achieve an extraordinary result. De Villiers has been one of the stellar performers for RCB over the years,but this particular performance might well give them that boost to go all the way & make it their best season.

Turn adversity into advantage

During the pandemic crisis this year we heard lot of times about turning adversity into an opportunity. We all in our own capacity try to convert a difficult situation into a fruitful one at some point of our life. It's a real test of character to be able to do any such deed. In sports we find plenty of such examples as a sportsman's life is a continuous fight with adversity.Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH) has taken quite a few bold decisions this season.Some of them have worked in their favour, some have not. Match against Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) saw them taking another bold step by promoting Kane Williamson to open the innings instead of Captain David Warner. On a cricketing parameter it may look like a tactical move but it was lot more than that & the entire team management along with Williamson deserves a lot of credit for such a brave decision. Williamson got injured during fielding & was unable to run. It might would have been looked as another disappointment for the team to loose a key batsman . But the Hyderabad based team thought otherwise. Instead of holding Williamson back they allowed him to open the innings where he can take full advantage of field restrictions & score freely without running much between the wickets. The idea was to utilize Williamson's services as much as possible in spite of the injury. It paid off as they got a brilliant start in the first 6 overs courtesy some excellent batting by Williamson.Though his wicket just after the power play made the work further difficult for Warner & men and eventually they lost the match in a super over finish, the decision to promote Williamson deserves a big applause. He set a proper example of leadership to try & convert a limitation to an advantage for the sake of the team.


Never Give Up

It's not possible to end the discussion without talking about the double super over match between Kings XI Punjab(KXIP) & Mumbai Indians(MI). What a match! The fighting spirit shown by KXIP was phenomenal. It was the captain KL Rahul again who led from the front & never gave up even during the most hopeless situation. He is in the form of his life this season. His batting did not get affected in spite of the disappointing performances by his team. In fact it seems like he is more determined now to take this as a challenge & try everything possible to change his team's fortune. He was the top scorer for his side in this match too. He hold one end strongly in spite of regular wicket falls at the other end. It was his wicket that gave the opponents a chance to get back to the game. Instead of giving the responsibility to someone else to bat in the super over ,he again decided to lead from the front & finish the job. Seems like his never give up spirit has been inculcated in his team nicely which saw Mohammed Shami bowling an excellent over to defend 5 runs. It was Rahul again to involve in a timely run out to ensure that the match gets into another super over. It was just unbelievable to see how his team performed in this match against a formidable Mumbai side. We will get to see in few days whether Rahul's efforts are sufficient or not to change his team's fortune this season, but the grit shown by him during his maiden IPL leadership assignment will definitely give him a lot of confidence for the future.


Stay tuned for more in this space....
 
Click here for Part-III of this series.
 
 
Image Credit

De Villiers- Paddynapper(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/AB_de_Villiers_2.jpg)

Williamson- Mark Lockett, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
 
KL Rahul- NAPARAZZI, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons